Nottingham Forest defender Felipe escaped a controversial red card after grabbing Bruno Fernandes by the neck.

The situation happened in ιnjury time in Man Utd’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the 5th round of the FA Cup this morning, February 29. At that time, defender Felipe used his hand to grab Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes by the neck. Notably, the referee ignored this situation even though VAR was active in this match.

The above situation caused a lot of controversy, most thought that Felipe deserved a direct red card for his actions. Reacting on Twitter, one angry fan said: “It’s really a joke” , another fan sarcastically said: “The FA has confirmed that the current player is allowed to grab the opponent’s neck”.

Defender Felipe grabbed Bruno Fernandes by the neck and escaped a red card. Photo: AFP.

Notably, Man Utd midfielder Casemiro previously received a red card for grabbing an opponent’s neck. The incident happened in February 2023, Casemiro grabbed Crystal Palace midfielder Will Hughes by the neck and immediately after that he received a direct red card and was officially suspended for 3 matches. After this situation, MU decided not to appeal and Casemiro carried out the penalty.

Witnessing Felipe grab Bruno’s neck but escape the red card, fans did not forget to recall Casemiro’s above situation. An angry fan said: “Remember Casemiro was sent off the field for the same thing”, “If it was Casemiro, he could have been banned for 6 matches because of that”.

Casemiro grabbed the opponent’s neck and received a direct red card. Photo: Getty.

Returning to Man Utd’s above match, they won only thanks to Casemiro’s successful header and Bruno Fernandes was the one who took the free kιck that led to the goal. Winning 1-0 against Nottingham Forest, MU officially entered the FA Cup quarter-finals, thereby marking the 9th time in 10 consecutive seasons entering this round.

Right after the final series of round 5 of the FA Cup ended this morning, the quarter-final draw results were out and Man Utd’s next opponent is Liverpool. The FA Cup quarter-final series is scheduled to take place in mid-March.